International Visiting Fellowship 2016
Jette Linaa
‘The Emotional Object in the Dutch Golden Age’
As part of its international research collaboration, the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions funds outstanding international scholars in the field to visit one or more of the Australian nodes for a period of between four weeks and two months, to work with members of the Centre on a research program of their choice. Visitors are invited to present their work in lectures or symposia, where they will receive feedback from and engage in discussion with members of the Centre, promoting collaborative research. Jette Linaa held an International Visiting Research Fellowship in 2016 and travelled to Australia to work with the Centre at the UWA, USyd and UMelb nodes for six weeks. Jette is Curator in Historical Archaeology at Moesgaard Museum, Denmark. She is also a Lecturer with the Department of Archaeology at the University of Aarhus and with the Department of Maritime Archaeology at the University of Southern Denmark. She is currently the head of the Danish Council for Independent Research/Humanities ‘Urban Diaspora: Diaspora Communities and Materiality in Early Modern Urban Centres’ project
(2014–2017), which brings together a team of 14 archaeologists, historians and scientists from 10 universities and museums in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands to explore the materiality of migration. Her recent publications include a monograph, Urban Consumption: Consumption, International Connections and Social Topographies in Aarhus, 900–1800 (Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2016), and chapters in edited collections on the historical archaeology of crafts and consumption. Jette discusses the benefits and highlights of her time with CHE, below. My visiting research fellowship, to work on a project titled ‘The Emotional Object in the Dutch Golden Age’, gave me the opportunity to spend September and part of October 2016 visiting and working at three nodes of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions: the universities of Western Australia (UWA), Sydney (USyd) and Melbourne (UMelb). First I spent almost four weeks at UWA in Perth, where Pam Bond, Andrew Lynch, Jaqueline Van Gent, Susan Broomhall and many other colleagues welcomed me. I was off to a flying start, participating in the UWA Research Week Panel Discussion, ‘Encounters and Emotions in Colonial Histories’, the day after my arrival. The discussion featured Dr Jeremy Martens, Professor Susan Broomhall, Professor Jacqueline Van Gent, Dr Shino Konishi and Dr Robin Macdonald. The theme of the discussion centred on how the emotions of fear, anger and sorrow shaped encounters between indigenous peoples and colonisers in the early modern period. European exploration and colonisation at this time, whether in the Americas, Asia or Australia, prompted a range of encounters between diverse groups and cultures. But how did emotions – fear, anger, sorrow – shape these encounters? These topics are very relevant to my own research, centred as it is around the use of emotional objects in cultural meetings between Dutch colonisers and indigenous Danes in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Very quickly, I found myself immersed in a wonderfully inspiring research environment. I was welcomed warmly and formed lasting, inspiring relationships with my colleagues: relationships that as I write are bearing fruit in the establishment of new collaborations and new research initiatives. I was greatly impressed by the positive, supportive atmosphere, the open free debate and the innovative research environment, and I must admit that I had the most fruitful stay and only wish it had lasted longer. My own background as a historical archaeologist was met with great openness, and I found the research at the Centre very relevant to my own work on emotional objects, complementary even. Very quickly, I was involved in the planning of new research initiatives and publications that are maturing as I write, especially in collaboration with Jacqueline Van Gent and Susan Broomhall. During the stay I gave a lecture, ‘The Emotional Object: The Materiality of Friendship, Longing and Trust Among Dutch Migrants in Denmark and Beyond’, and was happy to be met with positive comments and interest.
In the third week of my visit, I had the luck to participate in the Zest festival. My involvement encompassed workshops for local schoolchildren, aged seven to 14, on the Dutch shipwrecks on the west coast of Australia. The children were so engaged, curious and positive, and their teacher made me feel so welcome, that it was a great pleasure and great fun. At the Zest festival itself, I gave a public lecture on emotional objects, and again I was met with great interest from the visitors. I participated in the festival weekend, which included a concert and performance on the beach that impressed me greatly: a very emotional moment at a place where so many people perished. In Sydney, I participated in the conference ‘Emotions in Legal Practice: Historical and Modern Attitudes Compared’ at USyd. The themes in the conferences, and the many papers, were quite inspiring for my own research, as part of my project is an investigation of legal conflicts between Dutchmen and Danes. At UMelb on the last leg of my tour, I had the pleasure of meeting Charles Zika and Grace Moore, who invited me to give a lecture on emotional objects at a research seminar. Again, I was warmly welcomed and greeted in a very inspiring research environment. My visit was the most inspiring and productive way to spend six weeks. I am grateful to Andrew Lynch and the board for granting me an International Visiting Research Fellowship and grateful to the many colleagues who showed such interest in my research, and who quickly saw the connections and possibilities for collaborations across disciplines. Finally, I will direct a special thanks to Jaqueline Van Gent and Susan Broomhall for forming an ongoing collaboration and to Pam Bond and Katrina Tap for being so utterly helpful in every way.
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